Blue Flames
by magical meli
Summary: Zuko has kidnapped Katara in order to lead Aang to the Fire Nation and into a trap. However, when certain people get in the way, capturing the avatar might not be Zuko's only goal in the end... It might not be his goal at all.
1. Destiny Takes Its Toll

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender. But that doesn't stop me from dreaming.**_

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**Chapter 1: **

**Destiny Takes It Toll**

The fire nation fleet has been sailing for days with no news about the avatar. There was no trace of him. It was as if he had just dropped off the phase of the planet. Each day found the fleet sailing aimlessly with no idea on where to go, and today was no better. They continued sailing on with no avail. Prince Zuko was on deck staring out into the endless sea. This was getting them nowhere fast and he felt like he would go insane if his feet didn't walk on land soon. _Come out Avatar_.

"Prince Zuko, you should really try this tea," Iroh said cheerfully as he approached and took no notice of Zuko's fist clenching and unclenching. "No thank you," was Zuko's only response as he continued to look out into the sea. Iroh shrugged and took a sip of his tea.

They stood there for what seemed like ages until Iroh spoke, "We should find somewhere to stop soon. We're running out of supplies and quite frankly seeing nothing but water every time I look around is driving me nuts."

"Just was I was thinking uncle, just what I was thinking."

"There's a small town around here. Perhaps it'd be wise to stop there, don't you agree?"

Zuko turned to his uncle with an unreadable expression on his face, "That's fine. We have nothing better to do anyway." He sighed as he began to walk away, "And besides, I was getting tired of seeing all this water as well."

* * *

Katara, who had been staring off into space, was brought back into reality when someone kept shouting her name. 

"Katara. Katara? Katara!"

She turned to see Aang waving his hand frantically in front of her and Sokka staring at her curiously. "Did you want something?" she asked ignoring the fact that Sokka was _still_ staring at her like she was a being from another planet.

"We were just saying that we should land. There's a small town not too far from here. Should we go there?"

"Yes, I don't see why not."

Chapter 1... Complete! Are the going to meet up? The title of the chapter should tell you something about that. Don't forget to review!


	2. Involuntary Helper

Chapter 2:

Involuntary Helper

Sokka, Aang, and Katara landed on the west of the town's harbor unaware of the fire nation ship that had just come in on the opposite side. Since none of them was aware of Zuko's presence in the town, they didn't see any danger in splitting up for a while. Aang wanted to get Appa groomed, Katara just wanted some alone time without the constant company of two boys, and Sokka wanted to get something to eat.

Katara walked around exploring all the unique items that the town had to offer. She took no notice in the presence that had been following her around for a while now. She simply continued her sightseeing without the slightest idea of the danger she was in.

* * *

Zuko had spotted her walking around by herself. The girl was completely oblivious of his presence. She had walked right by him, her arm touching his for a mere second, and didn't even recognize him. _Little waterbender, you have no idea how easy you've just made my hunt._ He followed her around a while longer. He figured he would strike when the time was right. In the meantime, he was amused with how she found every little thing fascinating. Her face would light up for the simplest reasons.

He watched as the shopkeeper went up to her and asked if she wanted to buy anything. She shook her head no and was about to ho when he heard himself say, "She'll take that." Somehow, Zuko found himself standing behind Katara and paying for the necklace that she had been fondly admiring. Funny, he didn't even remember walking up to her.

* * *

Katara turned in surprise only to come face to face with fire nation prince, Zuko. He paid for the necklace and moved to put it around her neck. Her first instinct was to run away to warn Aang, but a few well chosen words from Zuko quickly got rid of that thought.

"Now, now. You don't want to cause a scene, do you?" he whispered in her ear. He was so close to her that she could practically feel his warm breath on her neck. He took her hand and led her through the crowded streets. She had gone willingly until she realized where he was taking her. Half way through she started to try to pull away, but his grip on her was too strong.

"Let me go!" she shouted refusing to go down without a fight. He pulled her closer to him until they were mere inches apart. He had an ugly smirk on his face and she had the urge to slap it off

* * *

"I can't let you go my dear. You are my ticket to the avatar and there is no way I'm giving up this chance." He started walking toward the ship again, dragging a stubborn Katara along with him. By the time they reached the ship, they were both panting for breath. She because of the struggling and he because of the effort he put into pulling her.

"Uncle! Uncle!"

Iroh came running as soon as he heard Zuko calling for him, "Yes Prince Zuko?" He caught sight of Katara, who was hiding behind Zuko, and couldn't help the curiosity, "And who is this lovely young lady?" he asked turning his gaze to Zuko.

Zuko looked at Katara and smiled, "This is lovely young lady will be assisting in the capture of the avatar. A sort of, involuntary helper if you please. Now, tell some men to locate the avatar and tell him to come to the ship." He grabbed Katara's chin to make her meet his eyes, "I'm certain he won't refuse seeing as I hold something... Of extreme importance in my possession." He smirked as Katara glared daggers at him. They were took caught up in their staring competition to notice the look Iroh gave them before going to inform the men of their new task.

Zuko is evil! That's why I love him. That and the fact that he's a prince (meaning he's probably filthy rich) and that he's a firebender (which I think are so awesome!) Alright, enough of that. That was chapter 2 for ya'll. Don't forget to review!


	3. Winner Both Ways

Chapter 3:

Winner Both Ways

It didn't take long for Aang and Sokka to arrive at the ship. Zuko had been correct when he said he had something of great importance. As soon as she saw the two boys Katara ran over to them. Surprisingly, Zuko let her seeing there was no way off the ship anyway, there were soldiers everywhere.

"I knew you'd come avatar," Zuko spoke smugly. He was very confident that his plan would work. He began to pace back and forth, shifting his gaze from Aang, to Sokka, to Katara, and back again. Out of the three, Sokka was the first to speak, "Why did you bring my sister here? Who gave you the right to just pick girls up and bring them to your ship!"

"I gave myself that right you water peasant. As for your sister..." In one swift motion he reached over and grabbed Katara. She gasped as he pulled her against him. Aang tried to grab hold of Katara before she was completely in Zuko's grasp but a quick fire blast from Zuko blocked his path and he couldn't airbend without risking the injury of Katara.

"Let her go!" He shouted as he watched Zuko toy with Katara's hair.

"I don't think so. I still need her. As for you avatar, I have a proposition for you." With his arms wrapped firmly around Katara's waist, he started to pace around Aang and Sokka once again, Katara, having no choice in the matter, did the same.

"What kind of proposition?"

"It's simple really. You give yourself up and I let the girl go. However, if you should refuse, the girl stays with me." He tightened his hold on Katara to the point where it was getting hard for her to breath. "You're hurting her!" Aang responded when he noticed Katara's labored breathing. At this, Zuko loosened his grip but still kept his arms around her. He bent down to whisper an apology, making sure that Aang and Sokka didn't hear and masking his true intention.

"So, what will it be avatar? You or the girl?"

"That's not a very fair proposition."

"Of course. I proposed it in the first place. Therefore its only fair for me to come out the winner both ways."

Aang looked at him in disbelieve. He simply could not understand how one person could be so evil. Zuko watched him as he thought about his answer and smirked when it seemed that Aang had made up his mind. But before Aang could even utter a word, Katara spoke, "Don't give in Aang! The fate of the world lies in your hand! You're the only one who can restore peace to this land. You can't surrender, not now. Please Aang, don't do it!" Zuko looked down at the girl currently in his arms. He couldn't believe he had heard those words come from her. She was in danger and she still protected the damned avatar. Deciding to worry about that later he turned to Aang.

"Well avatar?"

Tension filled the air as Aang finally voiced his answer, "I won't do it. I won't give myself up."

Zuko smiled a smile filled with evil intentions. He turned to his soldiers and as two stepped up, Aang and Sokka new nothing good was about to happen. They could only watch in horror was a kicking and screaming Katara was taken away.

"Don't worry, I'll make sure she's well taken care off. As for you two... Get off my ship." He sent a fire blast that sent Aang and Sokka flying overboard. All they could hear was Zuko's laughter as they hit the water with a splash. After laughing for a while, Zuko turned to the commander, "Set sail at once."

"Yes sir!"

The ship set sail, leaving behind an extremely angry Sokka and a sad Aang. They could only watch as the ship sailed away, with Katara on it. Meanwhile, Zuko planned on making his guest more... Comfortable.

Yay! Chapter 3! Okay, I am glad to say that I got reviews for the last two chapters. Thank you very, very, very much. Now, someone said that this is another Zuko captures Katara fanfic... Yes, it is :-D. But you know you love it (lol)! As for making the chapters longer and adding more details, I'll try. But I get writer's block! Plus, I also have to worry about finals. And these mean teachers keep giving us final essays. They even gave us one in geometry! What am I suppose to write about in **geometry**, the Pythagorean theorem? I'll keep updating. I don't want someone, who shall remain nameless (coughs Stick'ums) to sick their evil stick minions on me. Don't forget to review!


	4. Guest of Honor

Chapter 4:

Guest of Honor

Katara had been put in what looked like a spare room. Why they hadn't just taken her to the prisoner cells was beyond her, but she wasn't complaining. She didn't know what Zuko would do to Aang and her brother but she hoped he had enough heart to not kill them. She walked around nervously, running the options she had left through her mind. Aang has refused to give himself up, and Zuko was not going to let her go so easily. She could try to escape, but if she was caught the punishment would probably be worse than her current situation. She could waterbend her way out of Zuko's reach, but her waterbending abilities weren't always reliable. She was so wrapped up in her thoughts that she failed to notice the click of the door as it opened.

* * *

Zuko entered as quietly as possible. Apparently he had been too quiet since Katara didn't even hear the door opening. He smiled to himself noticing how distracted Katara could get, he would definitely use this as an advantage if need be. He slammed the door shut causing Katara to finally snap her attention towards him. She was shocked to see him in the room but didn't show it. She put on a neutral expression, determined not to let show just how much this whole fiasco was affecting her. She decided to get straight to the point so she looked him straight in the eye and asked, "What have you done with Aang and my brother?"

Zuko looked her in the eye with as much resolution. He made himself comfortable by leaning against the door, just to make sure she wouldn't try anything. He checked his nails the way only a prince would do it, completely ignoring Katara and the fact that she had just asked a question. Katara was getting agitated with his cool act, "I asked you a question!"

"Don't worry, they're alive. Unfortunately for you, they are no longer on the ship. See, I decided they would take up too much space so I threw them overboard." His cool act never faltered, not even after Katara made an attempt to punch him, "You jerk! How could you!"

Zuko took hold of her wrist before she could land a blow. He was quickly losing his cool exterior and it showed when his fist began to get warmer. Katara tried to escape his grasp but that only made him tighten his hold, "I could've burned them right on the stop. Would you have preferred to have a pile of ashes for a brother?"

* * *

Katara whimpered as his grip only got tighter and hotter. She closed her eyes in agony, refusing to let the tears that threatened to spill fall. She wouldn't give Zuko the pleasure of knowing that he had broken her. "You're hurting me," she said softly not sure if he had heard her. His eyes widen as he realized that he was indeed hurting her and that it wasn't a trick. He let her go immediately and muttered an apology. He turned away from her, not being able to look into her teary eyes. He let out a soft sigh unaware of Katara following his every move. "What are you going to do with me?" The question caught him off guard and he found himself turning to face her. She looked so vulnerable and small. Unconsciously, he extended his hand. She looked at it with caution. He chuckled at how suspicious she was of him, "What's your name?" She met his gaze once more and saw that he wasn't planning anything against her, "Its Katara."

"That's a nice name. Listen Katara, I won't hurt you. You're my guest of honor for as long as you're here."

"And exactly just how long is that?"

"However long the avatar takes to come and rescue you." He turned to leave but was stopped when he felt a small hand on his shoulder. He turned to see Katara give him a weird look. Then she smiled and said, "You're not as evil and you make yourself seem." He smirked at her comment and removed her hand off his shoulder, "You'd be surprised. I'll have someone bring you something to eat later on. In the meantime, don't try anything. I would hate to have to hurt you." With that he walked out of the room. She heard the clicking as he locked it from the outside. He was making sure that his _guest of honor_ stayed put. She sighed and went to lay on the bed. There was no point in trying to escape only to be turned to ashes later on. She hated to admit it, but Zuko was right. All she could do was wait until Aang and Sokka came to rescue her. Or until Zuko finally got tired of her and let her go, which was highly unlikely. With that thought in mind, she drifted off to sleep. She would think more later... When she wasn't so tired.

Up in the sky! It's a bird, its a plane, no, its chapter 4! Sorry I didn't update sooner, but I had stuff to do, like my final speech for speech class. Speaking of finals, next week is finals! NO! The horror! My first two horrific finals are IPC and English 1. Sounds like fun... NOT! But the teachers better think again if they think I'm gonna spend all weekend studying. I'm gonna go see Star Wars Episode III tomorrow so ha! No stupid finals can stop me from enjoying myself. Well, the geometry final can. That thing is EVIL, capital letters and all. Anyway, while I continue to ramble on and on, you click that little purple button down there and review and chapter 5 will be up soon enough.


	5. Freedom to a Certain Extend

Chapter 5:

Freedom to an Extend

She had slept for and hour and was still asleep. Her thoughts were tormented by the idea of Zuko harming Aang, Sokka, or herself. Would Zuko really kill them just for the fun of it? She refused to believe that seeing as he was a prince that had honor, or was trying to gain it back. Her mind went back to the time when he stopped her from being captured by the pirates. In the end she had ended up being captured by _him._ She remembered him saying that he was trying to regain his honor. She also remembered that he had her mother's necklace. She suddenly sat up in bed as she clearly remembered him teasing her with the one thing she held most dear. And now she was mad. Zuko might be able to use her as bait, but he would give back her necklace.

* * *

Up on the deck, Zuko looked out towards the sea. His plan would work out, if he came up with a plan. He hated to admit it, but he never actually thought Katara would still be with him. If he let her go, the avatar would take a while to find her, especially since they were in the middle of no where. But if he kept her with him, the avatar would _still_ take forever to find her. Who knows how long it would take for him to finally find the ship. This was not what he had in mind.

Iroh came up behind him with quiet steps. He roughly patted the prince on the back causing him to jump, "Uncle! Are you trying to scare me to death!" Iroh burst out laughing enjoying the sight before his eyes. Zuko had his hand placed over his heart and was breathing heavily. Iroh continued laughing until Zuko shot him a glare. "That was quite interesting. I didn't know you could jump that high Prince Zuko." Zuko turned away in order to hide the tint of red that had appeared on his cheeks. He would get his revenge on his uncle later. He turned to face Iroh and saw that his face was now serious, "What do you intend to do with the girl Zuko?" The question was simple, but he had a hard time finding an answer. He looked away for a while trying to get his thoughts together. What _would_ he do with her? She obviously didn't like him so letting her roam free was out of the choice, but keeping her in that stuffy room all time would just make her even more aggressive towards him. As if reading his mind, Iroh spoke up, "You know Prince Zuko, perhaps you should let the poor girl out. She probably not dumb enough to try anything in the presence of the fire nation prince." Zuko said nothing to do but as soon as Iroh walked away, he headed straight toward the room Katara was being held in.

* * *

Katara heard the door click open and looked at the person who was there to visit her... Zuko. Katara was known for doing the first thing that came to her mind, and right now the first thing that came to her mind was to bombard Zuko with questions, so that's exactly what she did.

"You thief! You stole my necklace! How did you get your filthy hands on something like that? What do you plan to do with me? Do you know that if could take days for Aang to come and get me seeing as your ship isn't going to stay in one place? How long do you plan to keep me here? And when exactly do you plan on letting me out of this pathetic excuse for a room!"

Zuko stared at her in amazement. For someone that wasn't nearly as strong as him, she had more courage to stand up to him than the man on his ship. He smiled at the slip of a girl before taking her hand and leading her to the bed, "What are you doing?" she asked as she put up no resistance. She figured he wouldn't do anything to his bait. Zuko sat on the bed and motioned for her to do the same. Once she sat down he began to answer her questions, "First of all, I'm no thief. I didn't steal your necklace, I found it, as I told you a while back. And I beg to differ, my hands are not filthy. Now, truth be told, I have no idea what I'm going to do with you. Yes, I know it could take the avatar days to find us and I intend to keep you here for as long as necessary. As for letting you out of this room, that wouldn't be very wise."

"And why not?"

"You might try to run away."

Katara laughed at this. She knew better than to try anything in the presence of Zuko and his fire army soldiers. She gave him the most innocent look she could muster, "Why would I try to run away? I wouldn't get far anyway." Zuko nodded in agreement causing Katara to give him a scolding look. He suddenly got up and walked toward the door. At the last minute he turned to Katara, "Come." She looked at him in confusion. What was he up to? He noticed that she was weary of him so he held his hands up in a "I surrender" motion, "I won't do anything. You asked when I would let you out of this room. Unless you prefer to stay in here." Katara smiled as she practically ran over to Zuko. He let her pass first following close behind. Once they reached the top deck, Katara ran to the railings. She looked out into the vast sea and sighed in happiness. Zuko gave a small smile before stepping beside her, "You'll get tired of it after a while, trust me."

"I could never get tired of the sea."

"Of course, how could I forget, you're a waterbender."

"And water puts out fire."

He looked at her with a cold expression. It was amazing to her how fast his mood changed. One minute he was as happy as ever and the next he looked ready to kill someone. With the same cold expression he spoke, "Don't push your luck Katara." With that said, he walked away leaving a fairly surprised Katara. Once she got over it, she continued to enjoy the beautiful ocean and the welcomed breeze.

Chapter 5! I'm on a role! I've got nothing much to say so I'll give it a rest for now. Review you must! Sorry, I went to see Star Wars yesterday. Talk like Yoda I am. Much fun it is. Try it you should. Cry because of finals we all must.


	6. Tensions

Chapter 6:

Tensions

Today found Katara on deck staring out into the sea, again. She hated to admit it, but Zuko was right, it got old after a while. She was alone right now and could easily run away, but if she was caught there was no telling what Zuko might do to her. Speaking of Zuko, apparently he trusted her enough to leave her on her own while he was at a meeting with his soldiers.

Katara sighed and decided it was time to give the ocean a rest, and herself. She walked back to her cursed room. She laughed at the irony of this, a few days ago she was practically begging to be let out and now she was going back of her free will. She figured that being stuck on a Fire Nation ship for so long did that to a sane girl. When she got to the room she closed the door behind her and laid on the bed. There was nothing to do except take a nice, long rest.

Zuko finally called the meeting to an end after deciding it would not be wise to make any stops while Katara was on board. He looked around hoping to see the person in mind, but she was no where to be found. After searching once, twice, three times he started to get worried. Had she escaped?

He ran to his room and only when he was actually there did he think about the fact that Katara would never set foot in his room. He decided to check her room feeling confused as to why she would go back to that "stuffy room" in the first place.

Sure enough, as he entered he saw Katara lying on the bed, sound asleep. He let out a sigh of relief. He would have a word with her later on about scaring him half to death, but right now she seemed to have the right idea. As quietly as he could, he closed the door to her room and headed back to his own.

Katara woke up from her little nap in a good mood. She stretched before exiting her room for some fresh air. However, as soon as she set foot out of her room someone roughly grabbed her arm and pulled her away.

"Hey!" she shouted at her assailant. They didn't let up though and she soon found herself in another room. She looked up ready to yell at the person that had dragged her there and saw that it was Zuko, and he didn't look too happy. Even so she couldn't help but take the time to admire her surroundings. The room she was in was beautiful and she guessed it was Zuko's room, seeing as he was a prince (a spoiled out at that).

"Hi. Can I help you with something? Or did you just drag me here for nothing?" She asked, crossing her arms over her chest and keeping her distant away from Zuko. He decided to ignore her questions and get straight to the point, "When I leave you on deck, I expect to _find_ you on deck," he said advancing on her. Katara backed up until her back was against the wall and she had no where to go, "Now Zuko, use your head. You can't do anything to me otherwise your plan won't work. Without me, there's no avatar, remember?" She mentally patted herself on the back for her comment. She saw by the look on Zuko's face that he knew she was right.

"You're not that special, I can find other means of getting the avatar. You just happened to be walking around at the exact same time I was," he said smirking at Katara's expression went from smug to anger, "Then why did you drag me into this whole mess if you don't need me in the first place!"

Zuko shrugged not even bothering to look at her. Katara was upset now, _very _upset and didn't even think when her hand shot up and hit Zuko across the face. Neither knew what happened until Katara felt her palm sting and Zuko felt his cheek, which was slowly turning red. He glared at Katara who was trying to look for a way out, "So, I let you out of that miserable room and this how you thank me? I should've known better from a waterbender."

"Take that back!"

"Make me."

Katara looked around and saw a window. And what was below the window? Water. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and willed a water whip to rise and crash through the window, hitting Zuko in the back. He stumbled forward as he was caught of guard, "You said make me," Katara answered innocently watching as Zuko's fist started to glow.

"I was _joking_," he said he darted straight at Katara. She closed her eyes and readied for the impact of his fiery fist but she didn't feel the burning of flesh. Instead she felt the pain of falling backwards onto the hard floor. She opened her eyes and saw Zuko standing over her, a smirk on his face, "Don't worry, I won't kill you... Yet. The door's that way. Feel free to let yourself out, "he said pointing to the door.

"Bastard," Katara mumbled under her breath as she got up and left Zuko's room. Now more than ever she wished Aang would hurry and rescue her. She even missed Sokka. Anyone was better than Zuko.

_Finally, this thing let's me update! I was about ready to throw something at these people! But its okay now, I'm calm. Yay! Chapter 6! Why the sudden tension in this chapter? Someone gave me the idea and said I should try it and... I did, obviously. So anyway, that's all for now folks. Review and let me know what you think._


	7. Unhappy Campers

Chapter 7:

Unhappy Campers

Katara stayed in her room for the rest of the day, she hadn't felt like dealing with _Prince_ Zuko again. She thought back on their encounter and smirked when she realized that she had attacked Zuko and was still alive. How many people could brag about that? It was huge victory in her book even if she had only managed to make him stumble a little. It only proved to show that even he wasn't invincible.

She looked around the room. Her gaze fell upon the small window located just above her bed. She smiled with delight at the thought that that could very well be her ticket out, but upon further inspection she knew that she would never be able to fit through the small excuse for a window. She sat on the edge of the bed and bowed her head in sadness. How much longer would she have to be here?

She heard the door open but didn't bother to look up knowing it could only be Zuko, seeing as he was the only one with the keys.

"Well, have you finally decided to be a nice little prisoner?" He took a few steps and came to a stop inches in front of her. Without warning, she felt herself being pulled up by a firm grip on her arm. She looked into Zuko's eyes with disgust.

"Shut up you worthless excuse for a prince," she spat out turning her face away from his. Zuko grabbed her chin roughly and forced her to look at him. "What would you know?"

"You have no honor! What kind of a prince takes a girl in order to lure someone else into a trap! Are you _that_ obsessed!" She struggled in his grasp but that only served in making it tighter and more painful.

"I'm not obsessed; I'm just desperate." He threw her on the bed making her shout in surprise. "Desperate? Desperate for what? You're a prince! Your nation is taking over the world! What could you possibly be desperate about!" Her voice was slowly rising and could be heard on deck.

He stared at her for a few seconds as it contemplating her question. However, when it looked like he was going to answer, he didn't. He merely shook his head, making Katara even more furious. She looked him in the eye, or thought she was before she realized that he wasn't looking at her. Turning her head, she saw that he was looking through the window.

"You weren't by any chance planning to escape, were you?" He asked, any emotions he was feeling inside void from his voice. Katara sat up on the bed and crossed her arms over her chest, "Maybe I was. But then I figured that was a bad idea since you'd probably recapture and bar-b-q me." She was surprised when Zuko laughed. In her mind, that wasn't funny because he was very capable of doing that, "That's not funny!"

"Apparently you tried to make me bar-b-q you earlier when you attacked me."

"I was just trying to get your attention at that time."

"Get my attention? You _had_ my attention! There was no one else in the room to gain my attention anyway!"

She opened her mouth to defend herself but nothing came out. She had no defense against his words since they weren't exactly a lie. She made a soft "hmph" sound and glared determinedly at him. She would not show she was cowardly. She was doing a good job at it, until her stomach decided to growl. She placed her arms around herself, blushing. Zuko looked her at her in amusement.

"I'll bring you something to eat later."

"Can I go outside?" She asked with a small beam on hope in her heart.

"No."

"Why not!"

"I don't trust you."

"I don't trust you either but I still eat the food you give me! For all I know it could have poison in it."

Zuko looked at her and smirked, "You just keeping making ideas on how to get rid of you pop into my head. First, bar-b-q you. Now, poison you. What next, just stab you and get it over with?"

She moved further up on the bed at his comment, she didn't want to make it that easy for him if he did pull out a knife, "Actually, that wouldn't be a bad idea if it gets me out of your reach."

"Tough luck, I'm not doing it."

"Why not? You suggested it in the first place! And its not like you've never killed anyone before!."

He turned away from her and walked toward the door. Katara felt like she would explode. How dare he turn his back on her? But when he was half way out the door he turned to look at her, "I want an apology."

"An apology? For what?"

"For attacking me earlier without any reason to."

She tried to look as innocent as possible even though inside she was laughing like a maniac. It took all the strength she had to hold back the smile that was threatening to appear on her face, "I don't know what you're talking about."

"You know. Apologize or you get no food."

"What!"

"You're a girl full with pride, I know that. You won't apologize, and you'll get nothing to eat either." He was so sure of himself. He looked at her smugly and was about to leave when he heard her, "I'm sorry," she said softly.

He turned to her in surprise, "What was that?"

"I'm sorry," she said loud enough for him to hear her. He was shocked, and that was the least of it. Katara was full of pride, but she figured her pride would have to wait for now because she was starving. And she wasn't going to give him the satisfaction of knowing something about her either. She saw as he left her room without another word. He hadn't said anything about the food but she knew he would bring some. If he didn't, he could be sure that she would have fun using her waterbending on him.

_Here's chapter 7 for all you reviewers. Did ya'll see that new Avatar episode? Wasn't it awesome! And I'm still laughing at today's episode (the one with the Air Temple). Anyway, do me a favor and review. I'll have chapter 8 up soon._


	8. Take The Blame

**Chapter 8:  
****Take the Blame**

Zuko and Katara hadn't seen much of each other ever since the day she surprised him by apologizing. He had known that she hadn't meant it, but he had still given her dinner.

He barely dodged a fiery fist from one of the soldiers that was training him today.

"Sorry sir."

"Forget it. That's enough for today."

He called of the training session because he hadn't been able to concentrate. There was no point in getting another scar because he was trying to figure out some useless girl. She wasn't worth the major headaches he was having recently. And yet... She intrigued him.

He subconsciously came to a stop in front of the room that belonged to her. He stood still for a while, trying to find any reason to enter, but he didn't get any. He didn't even hear a noise coming from within the room. Was she even still alive?

* * *

Katara heard the door open and saw that it was Zuko, just as she had suspected. He looked upset, his eyes aimed directly at her. "Can I help you?" she asked sincerely, she hadn't done anything to him so there was no reason for him to be mad at her. At least that's what she thought.

"This is all your fault!" he exclaimed and Katara tilted her head slightly in confusion.

"What's all my fault?"

He was caught off guard. Why was he even in there in the first place? He didn't even know what he was talking about himself. He watched as she got up from the bed and came towards him until she were a few feet apart.

"Well, _your highness_? Care to fill a peasant, such as myself, in?" Her voice was dripping with sarcasm and that infuriated him. He raised his hand with the idea of striking her. He looked down at her and saw determination on her face. Determination to not show any fear of him.

She wasn't afraid of him. So what if he was the future ruler of the Fire Nation? That was years away. Right now he was just a spoiled prince with a nasty temper.

With a sigh, he lowered his hand. "You're right, you are a peasant," he said, a smirk appearing on his face.

"Gee, thanks. Now, what was my fault?"

She noticed that Zuko was now looking at anything but her. Deciding to get his attention, she stomped on his foot.

"Oww! What was that for!" He shouted, hoping on his uninjured foot. Apparently it hadn't hurt that bad if he still managed to glare at her. "You said something was my fault; I want to know what I could possibly do from the safety of my room," she said, ignoring his death glare.

"That's none of your concern."

"Yes it is, and I quote, "its _your_ fault". What's my fault?"

"Forget it already! What is it with you waterbenders making everything more complicated than it is?"

"What is it with you firebenders and your stupid ambitions to be the most powerful? Can't you just rule over the little island you have and be happy?"

* * *

He was tired of looking at her, so he turned to leave, but stopped when he felt her small hand grab hold of his wrist. "What was my fault?" she asked one more time. If he had planned on barging in and have her stay quiet about it, he needed a new strategy.

He looked at her. Her eyes were so deep and her face was... He shook his head, shaking away he currents thoughts as well. He gave her a scowl and pulled his wrist out of her hand. Without warning, he pushed her back until her legs collided with the edge of the bed and she fell back. "Hey!"

She admitted it, she was scared. He could do lots of things right then and there, and the look in his eyes didn't help either. "Zuko?"

"You're my prisoner. I don't have to explain myself to you." He gave her one last glare before exiting. Katara laid in the exact same place where she had fallen. What had just happened?

I'M SORRY! Why? I got a review of an, apparently, very dedicated reviewer and... They said I hadn't updated in 19 days (20 now). I apologize 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 (whatever number that is) times! I've just been so busy lately. Please forgive and don't stop reviewing!

OoOoOoOh! I bet you all thought there was gonna be some Zuko and Katara action there, huh? Tricked ya'll! I'm not giving in that easily... Or should I say, Katara isn't giving in that easily. Till next time!


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